This paper discusses to what extent class has – and can be – a central analytical concept for the study of contemporary environmental conflicts. It argues that political economy and political ecology literatures have not provided sufficient grounding to understand systemic environmental challenges to capitalism. Whereas the literatures on new social movements and risk society have engaged with class thoroughly, their post-class stance remains unconvincing. The ‘environmentalism of the poor' literature and its extensions, while demonstrating the class-specific nature of contemporary struggles, are limited by their narrow focus on site-specific conflicts and the assumption that working class interests can be reconciled with ecological concerns within a capitalist framework. These critiques are discussed within the context of climate in the conclusions.